A Family Reunion
by actualjohnlocktrash
Summary: After Terminus, how will Rick accept Carol? Will he wish her away? Where will they go? My first fanfiction. Review please! Will be continued, as it was originally planned to be a one-shot. Rated T for occasional language.
1. Chapter 1: Reunion

**I do not own The Walking Dead. I do however own a retainer and a while bunch of notebooks full of fanfiction I wrote at school. Lol I was a strange child...**

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><p>A Family Reunion<p>

Carol stands in the trees, just watching them. An emaciated group, but all the same, her family. She loved them, and wanted to protect them. And she had. She had saved them.

She wondered whether or not to join them. She deliberated for a second, then decided. Her maternal instincts won out. She glided out from the trees, her feet barely touching the tree branches littering the ground.

Daryl heard her first, and ran to her, his arms open as she jumped into them. They were a team, as the search for Sophia had proved. Daryl tried hard not to, but he sobbed a bit. Only Carol, Rick and Carl noticed. Over Daryl's shoulder, Rick nodded at Carol. She beamed back. He approved of her rejoining the group!

Maybe it's only because you saved them, the nasty voice in her head told her. Shut up! She internally thought, then felt stupid for talking to herself.

Pushing her doubts about Rick aside, she embraced Carl, glad that his "peers" were adults, so he wouldn't shrug her off. Carol quietly greeted Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, and was introduced to Eugene and his colleagues.

The group was together again and they were ready. Whatever was thrown at them next, they could handle it.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry it's a rushed ending... I had to hurry to post it. I hope you enjoyed. An actual story with chapters to come soon. Bye love you all!**


	2. Chapter 2: Discovery

**A Family Reunion 2**

**A/N: Enjoy! A lot of you have been following and favoriting, so I assume you guys want me to update. I just passed a big writing assignment in school, so that's good.**

**Most of the dialogue will NOT be taken from the episodes.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Walking Dead, although I wish Chandler Riggs would go out with me, at least...**

**Let's get on with the story. Enough of my rambling.**

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><p>Carol and Tyreese crouch by the creek. It bubbles merrily, reminding them of the people they had lost. They dip plastic bottles in the stream, collecting water to boil later.<p>

The silence is shattered by Carol's latest revelation.

"I don't want to tell them. About Lizzy and Mika, I mean."

"We don't need to. They don't even know we had them. For all they know, they didn't survive the battle at the prison." Tyreese says.

Carol sighs and looks away. She hates misleading Rick, but she couldn't tell him the truth. At least not yet.

They finish their task and trudge up the road. Carol is tired and worn, but there is no way she'll admit it. Tyreese just wants to find a safe place to rest, and to check on Sasha. They finally catch up with the group, and they all walk along in silence.

A reverberating cry breaks the humid silence.

"Help!"

On instinct, Rick takes off, followed closely by Carl and the rest not far behind. Carol shakes her head, and starts running.

When she arrives, a man is on a cropping of rocks, trying to stay away from several walkers. The zombies groan and gnash their teeth, itching to bite into his flesh.

"Help!" The man screams again.

Rick, Carl, Tyreese and Abraham quickly dispatch the walkers, and pull the man down off the rocks.

"Thanks you!" The man chokes, and then vomits heavily on the ground.

"Excuse me." He says.

"Who are you?" Rick asks, holding the man at gunpoint.

"I'm Gabriel." He replies, shaking.

"How are you still alive?" Rick wonders. "Gabriel" had obviously never killed a walker on his own, or even been very close to one, for that matter.

"I rely on the good lord. I get by on prayer. I live in a church nearby." Gabriel says.

"Will you take is there? My group and I need a place to rest." Rick asks, seeing how generous the man is. Gabriel doesn't know it, but he's being tested. Carol's seen it before.

"Certainly. It's just a ten minute walk this way." Gabriel agrees.

The church is worn, whitewashed, and old. The door is creaky when Gabriel opens it. His suit jacket snags on a nail, and he rips it off, adding another tear to the dozens already marring his blazer. Some looked as if they had been made by fingers.

Carol knew one thing about this man. That thing was that she didn't trust him. Rick could go ahead and do whatever he wanted, and so could she. She could leave again. By choice this time. He wouldn't want her to go, not after she showed her prowess as a fighter.

They all entered the church and dropped their stuff. Carol huffed a sigh and swung herself down onto a bench. Darryl plopped down next to her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a silent, comforting gesture. He knew she was uneasy, just as he was.

The group feasted heartily that night on spoils claimed from the food bank, but Carol knew this arrangement was going to be short- lived. She hid near the back, and ate quietly. She went to sleep, but was jolted awake by Sasha.

"Bob's gone!" She howled.

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><p>AN: how was it?

Don't be afraid to review. I'm won't bite. I'm not a zombie. Carl is blinking and asking for a review.


	3. Chapter 3: Hunt

**A/N: I know it's been awhile. The last time I posted, I was at a party. Long story short, I knew if I ****didn't ****post then and there, it would never go up. The chapter, you degenerates.**

**I do NOT own the Walking Dead, sadly.**

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><p>Chapter 3: Hunt<p>

The hunt for Bob was frantic. It was dark, and no one had seen him for hours. Sasha almost refused to come inside once it was established they couldn't track him in the dark. Abraham finally convinced her.

When the doors were closed for the night, she could not help herself. A soft, timid moan escaped her lips. She leaned against the door, guarding it all night.

When morning came, she shoved the doors open and launched herself outside. She noted a dragging trail of footsteps. They looked to be about Bob's size. She bounded inside, and threw together a hunting party. Rick, Michonne, Abraham and Rosita quickly agreed to go. Tara was easily persuaded.

They followed the prints, looking for any sign of Bob. They led windingly through the trees, taunting the group.

"These look as if Bob was being dragged along, not that he made them." Rick says, crouching down to examine them. Sasha says nothing, but Rick knows that expression. She's thoughtful, pondering something.

Rick knows better than to pry, so he rises from his crouch, and continues leading.

Finally, the trail leads them to a school. Walkers pound on the windows, whaling at them to claim their prize. Tara eyes them, and follows Rosita around the corner. There they huddle. Garrett and his crew. Bob is tied up, and his leg is on a grate, apparently it was on the menu.

Sasha tried to launch herself, but Rick had to restrain her.

"Wait!" He hissed. "We'll bring in more people so it's an easy fight."

Sasha nodded, giving in to Rick.


	4. Chapter 4: Promise

**A Family Reunion Chapter 4**

**A/N: Enjoy! More notes at the end of the chapter!**

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><p>Daryl and Carol were in a car, whizzing down the road. Carol wished he would slow down and watch out for walkers, but Daryl continued to speed. He was amazed at how little they had moved. The group was still in Georgia, only a couple hundred miles from the rocky quarry where they had started out so long ago.<p>

Rick was going to be very angry when they got back. Mostly because they were his two best hunters and gatherers; the fact that they could fight like bad asses only made it worse. He was probably needing their help right now, but they had chosen to leave.

For Beth. Yet Daryl knew this was probably not going to end well.

They continued following the car with the white cross hastily painted in the dirt smeared back window. Not many walkers were around, which was a plus - walkers only forced them to draw their attention away from the task at hand.

Eventually, when the other car pulled over for an apparent bathroom break, Carol took over driving. Daryl had been behind the wheel for about ten hours now.

"Wonder where they've set up camp?" Daryl muttered.

Carol nodded, and continued watching the other vehicle for any signs that it would take them back onto the road. "It's gotta be close-by. They can't be driving around just for kicks. It would be a serious waste of gas." She finally said.

It took awhile, but finally the car pulled back out onto the street.

Carol revved the engine, ready to reach their destination.

They followed at a distance, watching for signs that the people within the black car saw them. They didn't. Their mistake; Carol smirked.

They drove for hours. Daryl was getting rather sore from being cooped up in the car for so long, but he didn't want to seem soft, so he refrained from complaining. Carol too was feeling the effects of holding the same position for so long. Both soldiered on, unaware of the other's silent complaint.

They finally reached Atlanta's city limits.

They turned and looked at each other.

"This is it." Daryl stated, not seeming the least bit nervous or afraid. Of course.

"Yeah." Carol agreed. They waited for what seemed like ages for it to be clear.

When it was finally time for them to escape the cramped quarters of their vehicle, both inhabitants scrambled out as fast as they could.

"Finally!" Daryl exclaimed, as he stretched languidly.

"I know. It was pretty squished in there." She wrinkled her nose. "Now, just to find where our thoughtful leaders have gone. I think they went around that corner." Carol says, pointing it out to Daryl. He quickly agrees.

They grab any important possesions out of the car, and hurried on their newly-found way.

Reaching the corner, Daryl took a peek to scope it out. It looked okay, aside from the rather large group of walkers near the turning.

"I've got it." He tells an anxious Carol. He hastily lights a rag on fire before chucking it into a nearby dumpster.

Flames erupt, slowly consuming the metal into a timely kiss of death. The walkers all turn, distracted. At the oppurtune moment, Daryl and Carol slip around the corner, unnoticed by the mob gathering around the flaming dumpster.

"Good idea. Where do you think they went from here?" Carol asks.

Daryl took a moment, surveying the ground. "Hmmm. The only non-walker footprints here are old. A couple of days at the very least." He decides.

"Did we go the wrong way?" Carol responded, worry taking over.

"I'm not sure..." Daryl trailed off. Suddenly he notices something. A set of footprints, carefully disguised within the dead's dragged footfalls. "Small. Probably a woman's. These are only a couple hours old."

"Good. Can you track it all the way down?" Carol questioned his tracking skills once more.

"Yeah. At least, I think so." They spent the next few hours following the tracks.

But nightfall came all too quickly.

"We need to get inside." Carol decided, dragging Daryl away from the prints. "I know a place. Not far from here. Let's hurry."

Daryl nodded, not in a very talkative mood anymore...

Blocks away, they finally reached their destination. Daryl was quick to pick up on the name that married the sign.

'Home for abused spouses and children' ...

He says nothing, but raises an eyebrow.

"Sophia and I stayed here. Several times, actually. But I always went crawling back to Ed. Because I loved him, I couldn't protect my own daughter from him." Carol looked down sadly, tears streaming down her face now, but she refused to acknowledge them.

Daryl still didn't speak. He slowly placed his arms around her as some sort of hug, knowing she just needed simple comfort...

They enter quickly as it is was already growing darker by the second, and their flashlights were beginning to attract walkers. Carol forces the door open, holding it for Daryl.

The inside was surprisingly clean, if not chilled. There was a long hallway, with frosted glass doors. There was an office, as well as stairs that lead to the roof. In a kitchen of sorts, Carol had previously strung up hangars with plastic bags attached to the windowsill to collect water.

She had obviously been here several times previously.

Supplies had been stockpiled, Daryl noticed. Carol was a smart woman, and no doubt during her exile she had found many places to hide and stocked them all well.

The fact that she had been here prior to the apocalypse just improved the bond she had with this place. It reminded her of Sophia, that much was obvious. Her tears from earlier still glittered in the tracks they had formed upon her cheeks. Carol only cried about Sophia.

With no more talking than nessesary, they arranged themselves for the night. Daryl insisted that Carol should sleep, so he took first watch.

Once she had fallen into a state of slumber, he grew bored.

However, an insistent banging noise told him they weren't alone anymore.

He sighed, stalking down the hallway in his hunter's crouch. He reached a door. Two walkers stood there, frames outlined by the slight light streaming from the other room.

A mother and child.

Daryl frowned. He hated kid walkers. It was sadder, and harder, to kill them.

Slowly, he took care of them silently, knowing Carol slept lightly...

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks to my AWESOME beta, DarkestBeforeDawn1980, she's amazing! She keeps me right! Do you get the reference? lol. Live you guys. Should be updating more, as I've been bust with the holidays, then school and finals and such. Tata!**


	5. Chapter 5: Gone

A Family Reunion Chapter 5

Daryl was in shock, his eyes were wide, his heart beat was the only thing he could hear as it pounded loudly in his chest and head. This could not be happening...Not to Carol.

The mousy haired woman was a limp, bony mess on the pavement. She had been crossing the street when a car had careened around the corner. He and Noah stood side by side, the younger trying to keep the elder sane by convincing him that the very people who had knocked into Carol so brutally, were the same people who would be able to help her.

He wanted to kill them. To kill them all. They deserved to be dead. Now.

Daryl knew that wasn't how he would exact his revenge as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. The two men climbed out of the car, carelessly shoving Carol inside, and took off. Daryl sprinted after them; not caring about his pursuer.

Meanwhile:

Carl's words hung in the air. Daryl and Carol were gone. Where, no one knew. All they did know was that Tyrese had seen Daryl working on a car back near the road. Everyone looked to Rick. He had no idea what to do. Daryl and Carol were among his strongest; now that Bob was gone and Sasha was mourning. Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Glen and Maggie had already left for DC. They were in deep trouble. How cliché.

Twilight was quickly falling. Michonne helped Rick herd everyone inside. There was an eerie silence that surrounded the group, but there was nothing anyone could do about it - how such a large group had fallen again and again...

Rick took watch with Carl. His son had grown so much through the past several years; he was so proud. However the silence that had wrapped itself around the group was with them as well, and it seemed as though it would suffocate them both if no one decided to break it.

"Why do you think they left?" Carl questioned, his eyes scanning over the land before them, keen to catch any walkers that dared to get close enough to their group.

"I'm sure it was something or someone important." Rick replies, not wanting to get Carl's hopes up. The boy does just that himself.

"What if they know where Beth is?" He asks. Rick swears internally.

Carl and Beth grew quite close during the sickness in the prison. Locked away together, just the two of them and the baby. Whether or not Rick liked it, Beth was important to Carl. She was one of the closest things he had to a motherly figure after Lori's death. Michonne was more of a friend, as was Carol. They still didn't really know Carl. They hadn't been under lock and key with him. Sure, they had been on watch together, and scouting as well; but they lacked the connection of Beth and Carl.

"I hope so." Rick replied; it's been several minutes since Carl showed the world he was wearing his heart in his sleeve. How naïve he was. Rick hadn't realised. He was harder now, a shell of the former boy he had been. After all, he had killed that boy, during the attack on the prison. He was still Carl, just not quite the same. Broken, somehow. It hurt Rick to realise.

Atlanta

Noah had finally caught up. Good. He needed the kid's help. He knew all about that hospital. Beth was there, she was okay. Daryl was shaken with rushing emotion flowing over him. Happiness, he soon realised. He hadn't felt it in so long.

The odd pair found a vantage point high in the city, watching the hospital. Noah shared stories of the operator, Dawn. She was mean, but clever. She had Beth involved in a power play. This snake of a woman obviously knew what she was doing.

Noah was not excited when he and Daryl had to fight their way back to the street, not happy to be crammed in a car for twelve hours with a guy he barely knew. He was doing it for Beth, though. He needed to ensure her safety, just as she had done for him. The long ride was crushing. Daryl knew everything rode on him. Both of the women he cared about most would die if one point of this plan went awry.

In the pitch black, he walked out of the forest, and motioned Noah to come with him. They were brought inside, and the problem explained. The remaining group immediately took dislike to the idea of the hospital in Atlanta. Daryl earned Rick's support. This would be a brutal fight, and unbeknownst to them all, fatal.

A week later:

They were all tired. From crying, pacing, digging. All of it. Beth's death was so sudden, so unexpected. Daryl and Maggie had been hit the hardest. Their pain had been slightly eased by the other, although not by much.

The funeral had been awful. Daryl, Carol, Maggie and Carl had cried the whole time. Everyone else muffled their sobs instead of allowing them to leap into the crushing void. Her body was committed to the earth, and then it was gone.

She was gone.

The happy, glowing girl. The one who had tried to kill herself, back on the farm. The girl who sang so beautifully. The girl who became Judieth's mother. The girl who comforted Daryl so much. It was impossible to believe; however, it was true.

It was so impossible, Carol thought bitterly. She remebered her happy reunion with most of the group after she burned Terminus to the ground. This had ruined that memory. It was tainted, with the shock that had dominated Beth's face when that gun fired. Tear tracks glittered upon the group's faces, and hearts were heavy. She was gone, and with her, their happiness.

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><p><strong>AN: This is it, the last chapter. I finally realized I wrote this whole story for Beth.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my amazing beta, DarkestBeforeDawn1980. She is amazing! **

**I just wanted some peace, and not worry about this story all the time. Don't worry, I will continue writing WD stories, but I will be writing them completely before I post them. **

**Please review, and tell me what you thought of the whole story.**

**Thanks for all your reviews, favs, and follows!**


	6. Chapter 6: New Story Preview

Hey Guys! I know I finished A Family Reunion, but I though I'd give you a sneak peek of my next story. I was inspired by the WD spinoff, Cobalt. The idea intrigued me. It is in the universe of the Walking Dead, but all the characters are mine. I wanted to try my hand at writing with just the universe in mind, not the characters and plot. Enjoy! :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Walking Dead, or Cobalt. I also do not own any of their characters. I do, however, own Tom and Megan.

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><p>Cold Hard Steel<p>

This was it. This was the end. She closed her eyes, waiting for the zombie to just do it. Kill her already. It inched forward slowly, like the dead creature it was. Snapping teeth flew toward her throat. It was coming for her.

CRACK!

The loud gunshot echoed. The zombie fell. She cried with relief. She was saved. By whom? She looked up. Confusion crossed her face. "You were dead." She whispers.

"I was never dead. You gave up on me. I could never die without seeing you one last time. I love you, Megan. I knew I could find you. And I did. Just in time, apparently." He chuckled with no humor.

Tears were running down Megan's face. She couldn't speak. Except for three little words. "I love you."

Tom smiled. "Let's go, before the rest of them show up." He pulls Meg up into a standing position. They run together, out the door, away from their old lives. Their old families. Their old loves. It was all gone. The virus was responsible for that.


End file.
